Pen-holder



0..s. WARNER.

PEN HOLDER No. 297,651. Patented Apr.- 29.1884.

I Ifinesses I Invent-0r Q 7 MMM a /%we ,UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

oLIvER-s. WARNER, on AKRON, OHIO, AssIcNoR or ONE-HALF To DAVID .WAR R, OF'JAMESPORT, NEW YORK.

PEN-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 297,651, dated April 29, 1884.

' 4 i Application filed January 25, 1 884. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER S. WARNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pen-Holders; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to that class of pen- IO holders of general triangular form in crosssection.

. The object of this invention is to overcome the objections heretofore experienced with this class of pen-holders, and to so form the lower I 5 end or grip of the holder as to better adapt it to the anatomy of the hand than pen-holders now in general use.

To this end my invention consists in certain novel features and combinations, which will be fully described in the ensuing specification, and claimed in the clauses at the close thereof. In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views, looking at different sides of my improved pen-holder. Fig. 3

2 5 is a detail in longitudinal section, showing the pen as under pressure. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are detail views of the plug. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the ferrule. Figs. 8 and 9 are cross-sections of the grip of the holder.

0 In the several figures of the drawings corresponding parts are designated by similar letters of reference.

The pen-holder may be made of wood, hard rubber, or other suitable material, and it may be constructed of one piece, or made in sections,'as found convenient or expedient. The lower end of the pen-holder is cored out to form a tubular socket, O, for the reception of the spring-plug D.

40 In practice I prefer to use the form of plug shown in the drawings, consisting of a solid cylindrical piece of'soft rubber, in one side of which is formed a V-shaped longitudinal notch, d, because it is easily inserted without requiring specialfitting, not easily displaced by accident, durable, and may be readily removed and replaced, if necessary.

To successfully practice artistic penmanship, it is essential that both nibs of the pen bear equally on the surface of the paper, and instructors have been much perplexed by the dilficulty of pupils maintaining this posit-ion of the nibs when using pen-holders of the ordinary construction.- A departure from this rule results in the scratching and sputtering of the pen, the unpleasant jar of the penholder, and the cramping and tiring of the hand, and while the jarring of the pen-holder is overcome by the employment of the springplug heretofore described, the other objections remain; and with a View to correcting these I have devised the pen-holder illustrated in the. drawings, and which I. will now proceed to describe.

The upper end of the shaftAmay be of any desired form, the lower part or grip being of the triangular type. This type, as now in common use, is constructed in the form of an equilateral triangle, with three flat or concave faces, and presents the objections that the second finger must bear against a comparatively sharp corner. .I have discovered by experiment that this objection is overcome entirely by giving that side of the triangle which'comes in contact with the second finger a slightlyconvexed form,so that the finger is not brought in contact with the corner, but bears entirely upon a convexed surface.

To a full understanding of this part of my invention, attention is directed to the drawings, wherein Fig. 8 represents the type, and Fig. 9 modifications thereof.

The grip, in cross-section, presents the gen eral outline of a triangle, one side, however, having a convex surface, b, the arc of which has, preferably, a radius equal to or slightly less than the length of one of the sides of the triangle, so that when the second finger is pressed upon this surface b, as in the act of writing, the corner 2will not be in contact with this finger. The other sides, I) and b, of

the triangle may be formed with concave sur faces, as shown in the drawings, Fig. 9, though from my own experience I prefer that one side should have the flat form shown in Fig. 8, as this is the nearest approach to the shape of the aperture formed by holding the thumb and first and second fingers in a correct position for holding a pen. By making this test it will be found that the concave surfaces b and plane b very nearly approximate, respectively, the form of the ball of the thumb and of the first finger.

Instructors in penmanship will find that by properly inserting the pen in a holder such as herein described their pupils will more readily acquire a correct habit of holding the pen, and those whose business requires them to write continuously, and whose habits of holding a pen have become fixed, will find that this special form of grip reduces to a minimum the muscular effort required to grasp the holder firmly, in consequence of which the hand is not so liable to become cramped. Moreover, the elastic plug or pen-seat aids materially in causing the act of writing to be performed more easily, as it cushions the scratch and vibration of the pen as it travels over the paper.

It is also apparent that the peculiar shape of grip herein described is applicable not only to pen-holders, but also to pencils, crayonholders, and other similar articles requiring to be grasped by the fingers for a length of time.

I do not wish to limit myself to any special means for confining the plug or penseat D in its socket O, as many devices might be employed for that purpose, though the means I have found most efficient are illustrated in the drawings, the one consisting of a pin, E, passing longitudinally through the plug and into the bottom of the chamber 0, and the other consisting of a ferrule, F, fitted closely over the reduced end of the pen-holder, and hay ing a segmental slot, f, in its face for the reception of the pen. This slot f should be longer than the width of an ordinary pen, so that said pen may be shifted slightly toward one end or the other of the slot.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A pen-holder having a grip of the triangular type and integral with the pen stock, one of the sides of said triangle being convexly curved and one concavely curved, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. A pen-holder having a grip of the triangular type, one of the sides of said triangle being convexly curved, one concavely curved, while the third is a plane surface,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of a pen-holder having at one end a tubular socket and triangular-shaped grip, one of the sides of which is convex, and an elastic plug or pen-seat secured within the tubular socket, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,in presence of two witnesses, this 15th day of January, 1884;.

OLIVER S. WARNER.

\Vitnesses:

J osnrn COURTNEY, NATHAN Monsn. 

